wayDDO - Successful Forecasts and Automated Dispo Data Maintenance

wayDDO (Demand & Dispo Optimization) as forecast and dispo optimization module for the valantic S&OP Software waySUITE predicts future demands thanks to high-performance mathematical algorithms and automates disposition management. Individually tailored to the customer’s requirements, with many pre-defined parameters, wayDDO is the forecasting and dispo data tool for valantic’s waySuite. Its immediate benefits include reduced costs in production and procurement, more precise forecasts, more successful planning, and a higher degree of automation.

wayDDO uses state-of-the-art forecasting methods such as Croston and ARIMA in order to be able to map different demands at the company as well as possible. Depending on whether short-term forecasts should be made, sporadic demands predicted or longer-term trends identified, different forecasting methods are better suited. The best method is selected automatically by the application or optionally manually by the decision-maker and planner; and this is easy to do.

wayDDO forecasts future demands based on historic transaction data from the ERP system. Forecasts can be generated and calculated both on the primary and secondary demand level. wayDDO automatically selects the best forecasting method with the best parameterization on the defined forecasting level, thus minimizing systematic forecasting errors. As a forecasting platform, the high-performance, widely-used statistics software R is used.

wayDDO transfers the demand forecast to the waySuite module wayRTS for further processing. There, the demand forecasts are checked for feasibility, coordinated with sales, and taken over into the production plan and operative planning.

With the goal of guaranteeing precise and automated supply chain planning, wayDDO automates and optimizes the dispo data along the entire value chain: from procurement and production on through to logistics. The solution uses both historic data from the ERP system and information from the master data of the waySuite module wayRTS as input data. wayDDO automatically updates the optimized dispo data in the wayRTS material master data or generates transaction data records or adapts existing transaction data records in wayRTS.

wayDDO supports the planner with a wide variety of automation options, thus significantly reducing the planning times and work. A few examples: The tool sets production lot sizes automatically based on the average production lot sizes of the last periods. wayDDO sets, also automatically, various disposition parameters: The solution adapts the quantities of safety stocks or calculates the reorder point. Before the actual implementation, the necessary data and calculation specifications and their application are coordinated in detail.

wayDDO also handles classification of the material without a lot of time-consuming input from the planner or project planner. The ABC analysis classifies the material using the value (cumulative share of sales) and the throughput (cumulative share of demand). A-goods are the most relevant for the company.

The XYZ analysis that handles quantity control for the purchasing and storage of goods classifies the materials in their time sequences using characteristics. The relevant characteristics include the degree of demand fluctuation that is defined by the variation coefficients. X-items sell regularly and in somewhat constant quantities; the sale of Z-items, by contrast, is irregular. This results in different planning demands.

wayDDO selects dispo parameters automatically and adjusts them on a rolling basis. Reclassifications are typically done per quarter; however, they can be done at any time and without time consuming tasks. wayDDO handles the transfer automatically as proposal to the wayRTS material master. This way, the quality of the master data is improved step by step.

wayDDO’s forecasting benefits and state-of-the-art technologies already fulfill the requirements that companies will encounter over and over in increasingly volatile markets. An important basis for precise forecasting and high planning quality is the quality of the dispo data. The data quality has to be kept high with regular checks. With automated re-calculations, wayDDO helps planners with regular evaluation of dispo data and guarantees cost-effective, automated planning with minimal effort and maximum benefits.